Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
theism
the belief that at least one supernatural agent created the Universe and
continues to interact with it.
theory
in science, a theory is a coherent conceptual model that explains whole
sets of facts and withstands predictions that could falsify it.
transcription
the enzyme-catalysed process by which one strand of the DNA of
a gene is used as a template for the synthesis of a molecule of RNA with the same
base sequence.
transcription factor
the product of a regulatory gene.
transformism
the hypothesis that all species arose independently but changed
with time.
transitional fossils
fossils that show a combination of features from both their
presumed ancestors and their presumed descendants.
translation
the process by which ribosomes use the base sequence in a molecule
of messenger RNA to synthesize a polypeptide chain with a defined amino acid
sequence.
uniformitarianism, principle of
the assumption that natural processes observed
to be operating in the present also operated in the past.
unvarying regularities
another name for “laws of nature”, used to avoid the
misinterpretation that laws necessarily imply a lawgiver.
vestigial structures
structures that are reduced in complexity and function com-
pared to similar structures in other organisms.
Wallace Line
an imaginary line in the ocean that indicates the separation of land
species between the southeastern and northwestern parts of Indonesia.
Suggestions For Discussion Topics
1. What sort of empirical observation would persuade you that Darwin's theory of
evolution is false?
2. Can you think of any ways of explaining the world other than naturalism and
supernaturalism? Can you test any of these alternative explanations?
3. Discuss the four postulates that Darwin made in order for natural selection to
operate (see Figure 3.6). What would be the effect on a population if postu-
lates 1, 2 and 3 are correct, but postulate 4 is incorrect? Could natural selection
operate if postulates 1, 3 and 4 are correct, but postulate 2 is not?
4. What is your view of those religious scientists who alternate between natu-
ralistic and supernaturalistic explanations of the world? Does consistency of
behaviour matter?
5. Discuss why mutation is random, but natural selection is nonrandom.
6. Conduct a survey of your classmates about what they believe about the nature
of the world, and why they believe it. Then conduct another survey of what they
think other people believe and why they believe it. Compare the surveys with
each other.
7. Can you think of any empirical observation you could make or experiment you
could conduct that would persuade you that supernatural agent(s) exist? Are
you aware of any such observations or experiments?
